Doesn't Fall Far
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: Oneshot, light slash. After all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. And that's what scares Akashi Seijuro. *established!Akafuri; older!fic* *light T for some language*


**Doesn't Fall Far**

A Kuroko no Basuke oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The _Kuroko no Basuke_ characters belong to Fujimaki Tadatoshi-sensei, not to me. Um…yeah. Kids. I love family fics… -w- So have some Akafuri! :D Plus, lots of gay basketboys ahead; you were warned. ;P Read, review, and enjoy!

- ^-^3

"Is this really necessary?"

"What? Come on! It's after the New Year, which you wanted to spend together—and I don't begrudge you that, because I wanted that, too—but we should see our friends!"

Akashi Seijuro stuffed his gloved hands in his pockets after pulling the collar of his jacket up and tighter around his scarf. "But. It's. _Freezing_, Kou-kun."

Furihata Kouki grinned impishly and threw his arms around Akashi. "Then I'll warm you up, Sei-chan."

Akashi sighed as the train pulled into the station and they disembarked, with Furihata still attached to him. "People are staring, Kou-kun."

"Ah! Um…" Furihata blushed and fumbled for Akashi's pocketed hand. "There. Better?"

"A little," Akashi confessed. "You know, we would've been fine if you'd let us take the car."

Furihata shook his head. "Nope. I let you treat me like a prince the rest of the year, princess. You can stand to be a pauper for one day and take the train, Sei-chan."

Akashi wanted to protest further, that this was a ridiculous idea. Sure, a lot of their friends lived in the city. And, yes, many of them had families and couldn't drop everything to make the trip out to see Akashi and Furihata. And, all right, Furihata had agreed that they could see Mibuchi and Nebuya first before they'd left for the city, because those two were the only ones in their own neighborhood. But still, January in Japan got on Akashi's nerves. And they would've been _less_ on his nerves if Furihata had just let their driver take them.

Still… Furihata was awfully happy when they entered the heart of the city. "We should try and visit Koganei-senpai and Mitobe-senpai on our way back, since they're close to the station." Furihata opened his cell phone. "Aaaand… Hmm. Who lives farthest on the other side of the city?" He held his hand out for Akashi's phone, which the latter relinquished.

"Momoi-san, I believe."

"Right…hey, you've gotta stop calling her that, Sei-chan," Furihata said as he passed the red touch phone back. "She's married with two kids. Get used to it by now."

Akashi nodded. But some old habits were hard to break.

The couple stopped to buy a few small gifts—mostly boxes of cookies and the like for the kids—before taking a bus to Momoi's house. She lived in a nice neighborhood, close to a park…which had basketball hoops, of course. Once they reached the two-level cream-colored home with the "Wakamatsu" nameplate, they entered the gate and rang the doorbell.

"Oi, oi, _OI_! Stop pulling on my hair!" came a yell from right inside the door.

Akashi and Furihata exchanged a look.

The door opened, and Aomine stood there, with a stupid, mischievous grin on his face, and a little girl sitting on his shoulders, hanging on to his hair. "Oh, Akashi, Furihata."

"What are you doing here?" Furihata asked.

"Uncle Dai-chan is giving us piggyback rides around the house!" the little girl chirped. But then Aomine turned when letting the two men in, and she hit her head against the wall behind the door. "Ow, dammit!"

"_RINGO_!" Momoi boomed from the kitchen. "Watch your language!"

Aomine switched to carrying Ringo under one arm as the party moved into the kitchen and dining room. "Hey, look at what the cat dragged in."

"Besides your filthy mouth," Momoi spat at her best friend. She smiled upon seeing Akashi and Furi. "Akashi-kun! Furi-kun!" She wiped her hands on the towel beside the sink and came and hugged them. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"It's late, but happy New Year," Furihata said, taking one of the boxes from the bag Akashi held. He passed it to her. "Where's Wakamatsu?"

"Kosuke's in the other room," Momoi explained, opening the box and eating one cookie. When Aomine and Ringo approached her, she held it behind her back. "Oh, no, you two. You've been roughhousing all morning. I'll let you have some if you can get through the day without breaking anything."

Aomine put Ringo down, and the two moped. Then Ringo turned on Aomine. "It's all your fault, Uncle Dai-chan."

"It usually is, honey," Momoi said approvingly with a pat on her daughter's head.

A little boy scampered into the room then, followed by Wakamatsu. "Hey, what's all the commo—Oh, hey," the blond man said upon seeing their guests."

"Happy New Year," Furihata repeated. "We're getting our visits out a little late this year."

"You guys, too, huh?" Wakamatsu ran a hand through his hair. "We haven't even done the first shrine visit yet."

"We'll do it tomorrow," Momoi said. "Besides, as Ringo is learning, everything is Dai-chan's fault."

Aomine scoffed. "What the fuck?! How the hell is everything my fault?!"

"Stop swearing in front of my kids, you jerk!" Momoi snapped. "And of course everything's your fault, otherwise you would've apologized to Ryou-chan by now and be back at home instead of loitering over here!"

"Stop bitching at me, you ugly cow!"

"Don't call my wife an ugly cow!"

"I will because she's my best friend!"

"You looking for a fight, ganguro?!"

Furihata and Akashi exchanged another look. "Maybe we should come another time…," Furihata suggested.

Akashi nodded, but their exit was blocked by Momoi's son, Shiro, who looked at them expectantly. Akashi opened one of the other boxes and secreted a cookie to him, which made the boy brighten up and move. Then the couple escaped and sped up until they were near their next destination.

"Boy, things are loud in that house," the brunet mumbled as he walked hand-in-hand with Akashi once more.

"Aomine-kun's a terrible uncle."

"No…he's a big kid, so he's a good playmate." Furihata laughed. "But, man, you have to wonder what those kids are going to grow up and be like. Shiro's an anomaly, being so quiet…" He glanced at Akashi with a small smile. "Besides, Aomine can't always be that loud. He's probably just in a bad mood."

"And, according to what Momoi-san said, he upset Sakurai-kun."

"Yeah… Hey, who's next?"

They determined they were closest to Kuroko and Kagami's home, so they headed there. It wasn't as grand a home as the Wakamatsus', but it was nice all the same. And at least it wasn't noisy when they knocked on the door.

Kagami answered the door. "Hey, Furihata." His eyes slid cautiously to Akashi. "…Akashi."

"All this time, and you still have an issue with me," the shorter redhead retorted.

Seirin's former ace zipped his lips and motioned them to come inside.

In the living room, things were fairly lively. Kuroko and his and Kagami's son, Tama, were playing cards with Himuro and a new face. Murasakibara sat on Himuro's other side, eating salt and vinegar chips. Judging from the bright smile on Himuro's face that was beginning to slip, Kuroko and Tama were doing well.

"This will make four rounds for Tetsuya and Tama," Kagami explained to their guests with a big grin. "I'm ready to start betting if Tatsuya demands a rematch. You in, Furihata?"

Furihata shook his head and hands. "Sorry, I don't think we'll be staying that long."

Murasakibara seemed to realize at last that they'd arrived. "Ah, Akachin~ Furichin~ Welcome~"

"You speak as though this is your own house, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko stated evenly as Himuro discarded from his hand. Seirin's shadow swiped the card Himuro had dropped and skimmed his cards. "And that makes round four, Himuro-san." He laid his hand out on the table.

Himuro gritted his teeth and turned to the teen on his right. "All right, Touya. Do me a favor and don't let me play again."

"Got it," the teen replied, and he cleaned up the cards while room was made for Akashi and Furihata to sit.

"But I really don't think we'll be staying long," Furihata told Kagami as Akashi passed him their coats and things.

"Just a little bit~" Murasakibara said, and he rested his chin atop Akashi's head. "Wah~ Still the right height, Akachin~"

Both Akashi and Himuro pinched him. "He's not your headrest anymore, Atsushi," Himuro remarked dangerously.

The purple-haired giant switched to resting his cheek on Himuro's head. "But you're not the right amount of chibi, Tacchin~"

"Happy New Year," Kuroko said to Furihata with his rare smile. "You're getting a late start, Furihata-kun."

The brunet sighed. "I know, I know… It's Sei-chan's fault," he said nonchalantly.

Akashi coughed into his cup of tea which Kagami had just brought. "According to Momoi-san, everything is Aomine-kun's fault," he corrected.

"He's a good universal scapegoat," Kuroko agreed.

"But enough about that." Furihata looked around the table. "It feels like ages since we last saw you, since we didn't have the chance to do this last New Year. Tama's so big now, and you've got company."

The young boy, around Ringo's age, looked exactly like Kagami, but his attitude was all Kuroko. He gave up his seat silently for the taller of his two fathers and sat on Kuroko's other side, across from Touya.

"Ah, Tama's seven now," Kagami answered. He motioned to Touya with his glass of soda. "And I should introduce you. This is Touya, Alex's seventeen-year-old son."

Furihata's eyebrows jumped off his forehead. "Alex's?!"

The connection was lost on Akashi until Himuro picked up the anecdote. "Yeah. She met someone when she was here during the Winter Cup, and they hit it off. Surprisingly, he was American like her."

"But, thanks to having two Japanophiles for parents," Touya finished, "I ended up with a Japanese name, I grew up speaking Japanese, and these two," he said, gesturing to Kagami and Himuro, "became my godfathers." He shrugged. "But Mom and Dad wanted to share the holidays alone, so Uncle Tatsuya brought me here to visit." Touya held a hand out to Murasakibara, who stunningly shared his chips. Clearly, they got along well.

After exchanging introductions ("Ah, I heard about you from Uncle Atsushi," Touya said of Akashi, "but you're more chibi than I expected."), Tama bugged Akashi and Furihata with his Kuroko-intense stare until they relented and joined in a round of cards. One round turned into two and three and five and eight… More than an hour passed during this "short" trip to the Kagami household.

"No more…!" Furihata mumbled as Kagami laughed at the showdown.

"I don't lose, Kou-kun," Akashi reminded his lover.

"Except for that one time," Kuroko provoked.

Akashi's eye twitched. "Except for the Winter Cup."

"But not at cards, of course not," Kuroko continued with the hint of a smirk.

"Taiga, we should get a head start on lunch before it becomes supper," Himuro said, standing with his brother.

"Yeah, these two again—it'll be a while."

With those two gone and Furihata floundering beside Akashi, Akashi had to stare down both Kuroko and Tama on his own. Murasakibara moved closer to Akashi and Touya came over and sat behind him, peering at Akashi's cards.

"No fair," Tama stated. "They weren't on your team and they can't help you now."

Kuroko smirked and cocked his head toward his son. "Let him call in reinforcements, Tama-kun. He needs all the help he can get against our team."

Tama's smile became warped like Kuroko's, and it was a truly frightening sight, having _that_ stare back at Akashi. "All right, Papa."

That was the day when Akashi Seijuro lost for the second time ever in his life. (But, eh, he survived.)

With the game finished, Furihata held up his hands. "All right, all right… Sorry, but you guys were only towards the top of our list," the point guard confessed as he brought out the box of cookies and placed them on the table. Tama, Touya, and Murasakibara hovered over it.

"Don't even thinking about ruining your appetite before supper!" Kagami barked from the kitchen—and he wasn't even looking in the living room.

Kuroko picked up the temptation and walked the visitors to the door. "Thank you, Furihata-kun, Akashi-kun. Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year," Akashi said.

"Come again soon, all right?" Kuroko told them, and then he shut the door behind them.

Akashi stared at the door.

Furihata glanced at him and tugged on his arm to get him moving. "Sei-chan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just… Kuroko-kun almost seemed sincere when he said that."

"Of course he was sincere. That was a lot of fun." Furihata grinned brightly. "We played with them for a while, and Touya-kun seemed to like you by the end, too. But Tama… Man, that kid's scary."

Akashi nodded.

They headed to visit Furihata's senpai's next, but it was a shorter trip than the previous two, because his old coach was outside chasing after her eight-year-old son.

"Goddammit, Kippei, get back here with your father's glasses!" Aida shrieked.

"Senpai!" Furihata called from the other side of the gate.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Furihata-kun? Oh, hey, don't let him slip out!"

Furihata and Akashi held the gate closed from their side. On the other side, Kippei put on a large pair of spectacles and gave them a toothy grin. "I'm like Daddy!"

Akashi's cheeks puffed with subtle laughter, while Furihata tried—and failed—to contain his.

Aida came up behind her son and picked him up by his scruff. "You little…!" She sighed and looked at them. "Nice to see you guys."

Akashi handed her a box of cookies. "Happy New Year."

"Ohh, cookies!" Kippei chirped as his mother held them out of reach.

"I'd invite you in, but it's a bit chaotic," Aida said. "Junpei's crashing into things without his glasses, and we've got the Tsuchidas over."

Furihata whistled. "No kidding? Tsuchida-senpai finally married his high school sweetheart?"

She shrugged. "I know, right? I always thought he'd be the first of us, but he made up for that. They have a one-year-old girl. Hence, the added noise."

"Baby Kaya's cute!" Kippei announced.

"Sorry you can't stay," Aida apologized. "Happy New Year, you two." They bowed, and she returned inside with her son attached to the gift.

"Ah, we forgot about the other Kiseki," Furihata pointed out when they'd made their way half back into the heart of the city. "Lemme text Kuroko." With flying fingers, Furihata shot an email off. A moment later, Furihata's phone trilled. "Oh… Kise and Kasamatsu-san aren't in the country right now. And Midorima and Takao are at the hospital?!"

"Midorima-kun's probably working, Kou-kun," Akashi supplied.

"Oh. Oh…" Furihata ran a hand through his hair and chuckled nervously. "Whoops…"

Akashi grabbed that hand and held on to it, pulling him to Midorima's hospital. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back."

The brunet frowned. "Are you really in such a rush to get back home, Sei-chan?"

"… It's not that…"

"I thought you were having fun."

"I am." Akashi closed his eyes while they waited for the crossing signal to change. "I just… Kids…"

"You're good with them, Sei-chan. Really." Furihata smiled at him. It was the smile that Akashi loved waking up to every morning, the smile that made him feel warm even when he really was freezing…the smile that made him feel okay not to be in control of everything. It was a reliable smile.

But Akashi didn't have the heart to vent his feelings right now and correct Furihata. If he did, he'd ruin the rest of the day and their night, and he didn't want to do that to Furihata.

At the hospital, they looked up Midorima's office on the directory and then rode the elevator up to Diagnostics. It was quiet on the floor, and certainly not the happiest place to be.

And yet, in the chairs in the hallway outside Midorima's office sat a man and a little girl who swung their legs and sang quietly to each other. The man noticed them right away…likely with his hawk eye.

"Ah! Himitsu! Aka-chan sighting! Bonus Furi-chan!"

The girl mimicked Takao's face and pose, as though they were in a sentai show. "Whoa! Papa Kazu! Lock on Aka-chan! It's a bag!"

Furihata laughed as they approached them. "Takao, what—"

"No, no!" Takao said, while Himitsu made a buzzer sound.

Furihata groaned. "_Midorima_, what are you doing out here?"

Takao sighed happily. "Thank you for being proper, Furi-chan. And Shin-chan's almost done for the day." He touched his nose to his daughter's. "We're here to pick up Papa Shin, aren't we?"

"Right!" Himitsu answered.

"Kuroko-kun told us—"

"No, no, Aka-chan!" Takao interrupted.

"What do you mean, 'No, no'?" Rakuzan's old captain inquired, finding himself annoyed.

"Didn't Kuro-chan tell you? He and Kaga-chan finally got off their butts and registered the family adoption papers last year." Takao paused to snicker with Himitsu at having said "butts." But then he turned back to Akashi and Furihata. "But I guess if it takes years for people to call me something different, Kuro-chan might still accept his old surname."

Akashi gave Takao a _Who cares?_ look, so Furihata stepped in and produced a box of cookies for them. "We're just making our visiting rounds to everyone," he explained, adding a quick greeting.

"Ohh, cookies!" Takao and Himitsu exclaimed. He opened the box, and they both ate a few. "So good!"

Furihata laughed. "I'll get some drinks. Sit a while, Sei-chan," he insisted. "We'll go right after this."

When Furihata had rounded the corner, Akashi turned and watched the father–daughter duo proceed to eat most of the cookies. Himitsu glanced at Akashi. "Want some?" she asked cheerily.

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

They continued to eat cookies until a scream erupted from Midorima's office, shattering the silence on the floor. Someone else shouted inside, and there was a clatter. Perhaps a chair had been knocked over.

Takao sighed and put the gift on his chair. He patted Himitsu's head. "Stay out here with Aka-chan, Himitsu. I'll go check on Papa Shin." And Takao knocked and entered the office.

Akashi studied the door with slight morbid curiosity. Then he glanced down at Himitsu and saw the girl trembling. She met his eyes.

"Sometimes… Sometimes Papa Shin has to tell people bad things. Sometimes Papa Shin gets yelled at."

Akashi frowned. Did she speak because she wanted to break the silence again? Or was she seeking comfort? "The Midorima-kun I know," he said at last, "can and does yell at others sometimes. He yells back." He felt something cold, and it took him a second to register that she'd reached for his hand.

"Yeah, but it's different when he's play-yelling at Papa Kazu."

Akashi shrugged but nodded. The kid had a point.

Furihata returned with drinks at the same time Takao emerged from the office. "Thanks for watching her, Aka-chan," Takao said, picking Himitsu up. Behind him, two people ran from the office. "And, Furi-chan, thanks for the drinks. But would you guys mind leaving? Shin-chan needs his nurses now."

Himitsu perked up a bit. "Whoa! Nurse Kazu and Nurse Himitsu, reporting for duty!"

"That's right, Himitsu." And Takao and Himitsu disappeared into Midorima's office.

Furihata left the drinks he'd bought for Takao and Himitsu outside the door, and he and Akashi drank theirs as they left. "What happened?"

"I'd surmise that someone got bad news, and perhaps Midorima-kun was assaulted."

"Ehh?! Then, shouldn't we call security?! That's really bad!"

Akashi shook his head. "I get the feeling from Takao-kun that this doesn't happen often, but perhaps Midorima-kun lets it happen."

Furihata furrowed his brow. "But…"

"Think about it. You get bad news, you blow off your steam, and then that's it. It wouldn't surprise me if that is Midorima-kun's logic." Akashi stuffed his hands in his pockets as they got off the elevator and went outside. "He makes a good doctor."

The other man sipped his drink. They were getting closer to the station, so they'd be visiting Koganei and Mitobe last, as planned.

But then Furihata said it:

"You know…you'd make a good father."

Akashi tensed, wishing Furihata had _not_ said that.

Furihata quickly elaborated. "I mean, you knew what Shiro wanted earlier, and you played well with Tama and Touya-kun." Furihata gave him a sweet look. "And I saw you holding Himitsu's hand. She looked scared until Takao came out and explained they were needed. You comforted her." He smiled and rested his head on Akashi's shoulder—awkward, since Furihata had managed to grow one inch taller than Akashi before puberty had ended. "You'd be a good dad."

"Don't say that again!" Akashi yelled. He meant to pull away from Furihata, but he didn't have to do so. Furihata was shocked away.

"Wha…? _Why_? I remember your face when Kuroko and Kagami first held Tama after the surrogate gave birth. The photo they sent—you looked so envious."

Akashi shook his head. "Stop there, Kouki, please."

"No! When we got the notices about Ringo's birth and Shiro's birth, you had this quiet excitement on your face when we went to the store to pick out gifts."

"Stop it!"

"Seijuro."

Furihata calmly saying his name had more effect than if Furihata had yelled over him.

"Just give me one good reason."

Akashi glared at his lover. "Don't try to fool me, Kouki. I… I've…_mellowed_, about most things in life, I'd like to believe. But I can't raise a family. I can't even begin to muse about it, not when I know only one way of childrearing." Even now, his childhood flashed in his mind's eye: the lessons, the corrections, the expectations. He didn't want to force that upon a child, but he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't slip up and become exactly like his father.

He didn't want any of that. So children were not in his future.

Furihata was quiet for so long. They approached the neighborhood in which his senpai lived, but Furihata made no move to go to their house.

Ah. So Akashi had managed to ruin the day anyway.

They abandoned Koganei and Mitobe's neighborhood in silence. Akashi bought their train tickets in silence, and they boarded in silence. Now they'd get to endure a two hour-long ride in silence, as well.

At the very least, Furihata sat beside Akashi, albeit rigidly. On the last leg of the trip, exhaustion won out and Furihata relaxed enough to lean his head against Akashi's. But neither dared to look the other in the eye.

Akashi texted their driver, estimating their arrival time. He didn't want to walk home in silence; the drive would be little better.

The train rolled into the station, and Furihata followed Akashi onto the platform without a word. They made their way to the exit when Furihata sighed at last.

"Kou-kun?" Akashi prompted gently.

"I can't do this anymore," Furihata blurted.

The redhead stared at him, stunned. He hadn't imagined things would take _this_ bad a turn!

"Oh, I don't mean us!" the brunet fumbled, dismissing the thought with a wave of his hand. He pecked Akashi's lips. "God, no, I'd never mean us."

Akashi only felt reassured when Furihata took his hand and led him outside to the car. Only when settled in the back did Furihata resume the conversation.

"Sei-chan, you've got to stop beating yourself up about your father."

The former captain grimaced. "Nothing good ever came from him, Kouki."

"Then how do we explain you?"

Akashi snorted. "Don't try to turn this on me."

Furihata pulled Akashi to him so that Akashi's head rested on his chest, their seatbelts be damned. "Nope. Face it. He fathered you. But you're not only your father, Sei-chan. You've got your mother in you, too, and I know how much she meant to you."

The smaller man clenched his fists and hid his face in Furihata's jacket. "But I grew up without her. I don't know how to parent."

"You know…if you're so worried about it, you should realize that you wouldn't be alone." He forced Akashi to look at him. "I'd be right there with you, Sei-chan."

Akashi tensed. "Kou-kun, I thought the same thing of my mother. And then, one day, she was gone. I _cannot_ _stand_ the thought of losing you."

Annoyingly, Furihata laughed and smiled as the car pulled into the driveway. "Then take a lesson from your old Emperor self, Sei-chan, and scare even Death away from me."

Furihata pulled him out of the car and into their home. Akashi gave him a look the whole time.

"Oh! And another good thing that came from your dad, besides you!"

Akashi gave him a skeptical look. "What?"

"The business! We can afford to raise a basketball team, you know."

Akashi had no response for that. He was too busy turning the same shade of red as his hair…and thinking about getting started on that family sooner rather than later.

- ^-^3

**;3 YUSH. Akafuri, *nomnomnom*. I like slightly seme!Furi, hee… But he has a good point! You hafta wonder how badly Akashi would beat himself up over being his father's son, forgetting his mother… Good thing he has Furi there to set him straight! :D And, should you wonder about the other kids mentioned, only Tama and Himitsu required surrogates (huh, no adoptions from me for once…*'cuz mew doesn't do mpreg, nope*). And yeah, I ship a lot of different things, which were fun to mention in passing/include, so whatevs. Check out my other KnB fics if you enjoyed this one!**

**Thanks so much for reading, and please review! Would you like to see the OC kids again in other fics for the other pairings…?**

**-mew-tsubaki :]**


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